Begin Again: A New York Reunion. Callie and Sofia move with Penny to New York. The perminger research grant takes place in NYU medical school, where Erica now works as the chief of surgery. Callie hadn't been aware that it was Erica who hired her as the new head of Orthopedics at NYU, just that it was the best offer she had received in New York. This is the story of how Erica and Callie meet again.
This is possibly just a one-shot. Something is stirring in my brain for a possible continuation of this, but this looks like a good one-shot on its own for now
I know not a lot of people in the Grey's fandom are big fans of Erica Hahn, but she's a blank slate after everything and I wanted to explore her character a little bit. This is set after season 12, when Callie and Sofia left for New York. Nothing is canon, I don't know a lot about medical stuff, not even a lot about locations in the US cuz I'm not from the US. This is as AU and out of character as I can get.
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Shonda and ABC. Nothing is mine, I'm just playing around shondaland. Grey's would be totally different if it was, but alas, it is not.
Read, enjoy, and maybe review?
Callie POV
This was it. As she stepped into the modern-looking hospital in New York, Sofia holding onto one hand while Penny held onto the other. This was Callie's new beginning, the start of her own happiness, something she's not prioritized since she was married. Throughout the final few years of Callie's stay in Seattle, most of her life revolved around the bouncy little girl currently looking around in wonder and the other mother of her child who was back in Seattle. The ortho surgeon didn't even have time to process her own grief and her own trauma from what happened years ago, and it led to some very stupid decisions and really bad situations.
Callie accepting the tickets and the final olive branch that Arizona had extended was her finally choosing herself and her happiness. It was freeing, although painful. In another life, in another world, Callie would have never dissolved her marriage or chosen to walk away. She truly loved Arizona with all her heart, so much so that Callie had ignored everything that indicated the toxicity of their relationship. It was almost like George all over again, if George had truly loved her, given her a daughter, and cheated twice with two women instead of just Izzie Stevens.
They couldn't find a babysitter for Sofia on short notice, so Callie and Penny decided to take her with them for the day. Penny would have Sofia for the first two hours, since the resident had free time before she needed to report in while Callie had a meeting with the chief of surgery. Then after that, Penny would drop off Sofia outside the chief's office to Callie so mother and daughter would be together for the tour of the hospital.
"Alright, Sof. Be good for Penny, okay? You have your books with you?" Callie crouched down and fixed her daughter's jacket, a kid sized version of Callie's beloved leather jacket. Sofia truly looked like the miniature version of Callie, and it showed with her current obsession of dressing up like her mama.
Sofia nodded and gave her mother a tight hug before taking Penny's hand. "Bye, mama. see you later," said the little girl. Callie stood up and gave Penny a smile, giving the redhead resident a kiss on the cheek instead of their usual chaste kiss on the lips. Things were still awkward between the two of them ever since Callie's cold brush off after the custody hearing, but she was here now and they were going to try to work things out. The ortho surgeon had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she thought about her possible future with Penny, or the lack of such a vision for her.
"I'll drop her off before I punch in. Have a good first day, Calliope. I'll see you tonight if we don't see each other later," Penny and Sofia bade one more goodbye to Callie as they parted ways. Callie was heading for the elevators while Penny and Sofia walked off to the library.
Once in the surprisingly empty elevator, Callie pressed the button to the third floor, watching the floor indicators until they reached 3. This hospital seemed a lot more organized and modern than Grey-Sloan, and the building itself was a lot bigger. As Callie stepped out of the elevator, she couldn't help but make comparisons to this hospital and her old one.
New York was a fast-paced and busy place, but it felt like a breath of fresh air compared to Seattle. The NYU teaching hospital is ranked among the top ten teaching hospitals, already surpassing Mayo in the past few years. Callie didn't even bother to know where Grey-Sloan ranked at the moment, everything had been chaos and drama when she left.
Here, Callie could walk tall and build up her badass ortho goddess persona once again. Back in Seattle, events of the past few years haunted her. Here in New York, no one knew about her personal life, just her achievements and awards. She had been sought out by NYU for the head position thanks to her work with artificial cartilage and her bionic limbs project with the government. Here, no one stared and whispered about her as she passed by. Here, she was Dr. Calliope Torres, the genius who made cartilage out of nothing and made prosthetic limbs that actually responded to nerve signals. No one would question her authority and her sanity here, and once she was introduced to her new department, Callie Torres would make sure no one would ever question her or go behind her back to do any bone-related surgeries without her or any orthopedic surgeon present.
This was Callie's new beginning. As she stood in front of the door of the chief of surgery, her nerves returned. The orthopod was so busy trying not to become a nervous wreck that she had completely missed the nameplate next to the door. The Latina had knocked and waited, she waited until a muffled woman's voice called her in.
When she opened the door and finally got a glimpse of her new boss, Callie froze. There, sitting behind the chief's desk was the last person that Callie ever thought she would see again. Her last memory of this person was her back, blonde hair swaying with the Seattle air as the woman's hurried footsteps brought her farther and farther away from Callie and any hope for them.
"Erica." The name sounded foreign yet familiar coming out of Callie's mouth. She still stood just inside the door, half expecting someone to jump out of nowhere and yell surprise! But no one did.
Erica Hahn, one of the people responsible for one of her many breakdowns years ago, still looked as radiant and beautiful as she had all those years ago. The orthopedic surgeon had no doubt that the blonde woman could still command a room and take charge like she did before. The years had been kind to Erica, though there was evidence of aging if you knew where to look, and Callie definitely knew. She had spent months memorizing the face before her, months of mapping every line and contour of Erica Hahn's face like it was the greatest work of art in the world.
Once upon a time, Callie Torres had found herself falling in love with Erica Hahn, and it ended exactly the way all of Callie's relationships seem to end. The orthopod snapped out of her musings when Erica gestured to the chair in front of her and spoke. "Take a seat, doctor Torres."
The deep rasp of Erica's voice still sent shivers down Callie's spine. The Latina had always loved the raspy quality of the cardio goddess' voice, and her body responded the exact same way it did before. Taking a deep breath, the orthopod walked over to the chair and sat down. "So you're the one who gave me an offer any orthopedic surgeon would be stupid to turn down," she said.
Erica smiled her crooked half-smile that used to make Callie's heart melt. "When I heard that one of the best, if not the best, orthopedic surgeons in the country was looking for a position in New York. Well, I had to make sure my hospital got to her before anyone did. Grey-Sloan is stupid for letting you go, but their loss is my gain."
Callie laughed at that. Oh, how she had missed Erica's blunt, no sugarcoating, way of speaking. "I still own part of the hospital but I felt like I needed a fresh start. New York felt like the perfect place to do it. Seattle holds… too many reminders, I had to get away."
"I heard. I'm so sorry about Sloan." Callie nodded. Erica hadn't always liked Mark Sloan, but she tolerated him more than another blonde ever did until Callie fucked it up.
"Thanks. Sometimes I miss them, the hospital never felt the same after. Mark, Derek, and Lexie were important members of Seattle Grace. Mer was never the same after Lexie, even more, when Derek died." The two surgeons stayed quiet for a moment after that. When a plane carrying doctors, especially when some of them were world-renowned in their fields, fell out of the sky, the news spread like wildfire around the medical community. Everyone had known the name Derek Shepherd and Mark Sloan, and the name Meredith Grey also carried its own prestige by association to Ellis Grey. Another important name had been Arizona Robbins, the only American to ever win a Carter Madison award.
The two women spent a good half hour talking and catching up. Callie learned that Erica had bounced around from hospital to hospital for a few years before she landed NYU, having been hired as a temporary head of cardiothoracic surgery and lecturer until her predecessor retired and the former chief of surgery had offered her a permanent position. Erica learned that Callie had been married to Arizona Robbins and shared a daughter with her, she had finally made cartilage from scratch in her first year as an attending and had succeeded in single-handedly reinventing modern prosthesis after the demise of her partner, Derek Shepherd.
Exactly two hours later, both women concluded their meeting. "Well, it seems I've made the best choice in offering you this position, Doctor Torres. My schedule is clear for the day, so I will be taking you on a tour of the hospital and lecture halls and then I'll introduce you to your department. Shall we?" The two women stood up. Erica let Callie out of the office first before she followed. There, standing just outside was Sofia and Penny.
Sofia didn't hesitate to run over to her mother, smiling brightly and talking a mile a minute about the interesting books Penny had helped her read in the huge NYU library. The redheaded resident stayed back, a little weary of the chief of surgery's presence. Erica just watched the exchange silently, seeing Callie give her mini-me a megawatt smile and receiving a dimpled one in return.
"I wanted to read more, mama, but Penny has to go work now and she said that I can come with you to look around the hospital. Is this going to be your new hospital, mama? Is this gonna be like the one in Seattle? Are you going to be one of the… the… board members here too? Like you and mommy are in Seattle?" Sofia didn't even seem to be breathing as she fired off her questions. It was something that the little girl had apparently inherited from her other mother. Sharp pain in her chest made itself known at the thought of Callie's ex-wife, and it made her smile drop just a tiny bit, though she recovered quickly so as not to alarm the happy little girl in front of her.
"I'm just going to be awesome doctor Torres here, Mija. Besides, mama is still a board member for Grey-Sloan, so mama won't have time to co-own another hospital. I don't want any more of my time taken away from mi princesa." Plastering on her biggest smile, Callie swooped down and peppered the little girl's face with kisses, making Sofia giggle and squirm. After a few more seconds, Callie released Sofia and looked at Penny, who seemed to be waiting to say goodbye.
The drop in Callie's features at the mention of Sofia's other mother didn't go unnoticed by Erica. Penny crouched down and said goodbye to the little girl before she almost awkwardly leaned in and gave Callie a kiss on the cheek, and then she was gone. The blonde chief of surgery watched the whole exchange, not making a sound until she felt it appropriate.
"I didn't know we were gaining two doctors with this hire, doctor Torres. Is little doctor Torres going to be joining us on our tour?" The blonde kept her tone light and friendly as she turned her attention to Callie's daughter.
Sofia and Callie smiled at Erica. "Erica, this is my daughter, Sofia. Sofia, this is doctor Erica Hahn. She's the chief of the hospital, like aunt Bailey." The older Latina explained.
Sofia, ever the brave child that she was, walked up to Erica and held out her hand. "Hello. I'm Sofia Robbin Sloan-Torres," she introduced.
Callie watched Erica. The blonde looked surprised for a second before recovering and taking her daughter's hand, shaking it. "Hello, Sofia. You can call me Erica if you want. Are you coming with me and your mama for the tour?"
The small interaction warmed Callie's heart. She's only ever really seen her friends from Grey-Sloan interact with Sofia like this, and it made her happy that maybe Sofia wouldn't be missing too much of her hospital family back in Seattle.
Sofia tilted her head to the side, still holding Erica's hand. "Can I call you aunt Erica? That's what aunt Bailey and grandpa Richard like me to call them, and they're chiefs too. But grandpa Richard is older, so I call him grandpa instead of uncle." The little girl explained her logic like it was an everyday thing. Callie knew for a fact that it wasn't, especially since the little girl only really used titles like aunt and uncle for people she considered family. Callie's little girl was definitely already working her magic into this new hospital.
Erica's smile widened and she looked up at Callie briefly. Receiving a nod and an encouraging smile from the older Latina, the blonde surgeon looked back down at Sofia. "Of course, little one. You can call me aunt Erica. Now, how about that tour huh? Your mom tells me you liked going with her and your other mom to your hospital back in Seattle. Do you think my hospital would be a good new place for you to explore?"
The little girl nodded, still holding onto the older blonde's hand. "Do you have a place for doctor kids too? Like back in Seattle. Mama or mommy would leave me with Tuck and Zola at the place with lots of toys and other kids and this really kind lady named Lindsay would watch us all day while mama and mommy and the other doctors saved lives."
Erica smiled and gestured for Callie to follow them as she started walking, still holding Sofia's hand. "Yes, we have a daycare here. I'm sure you'll have lots of fun here, the doctors here have kids around your age too." The blonde doctor was explaining everything patiently to the inquisitive little girl.
Callie stayed back a little, observing the two of them. She couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips at how easily her daughter had wormed her way into this side of Erica, the Erica Hahn that only Callie had been privy to back in her resident days. This Erica was different from the old Dr. Hahn that everyone in Seattle knew. This Erica was kinder, more patient, and it made Callie glad that there was this familiar face for her here in New York. As the three of them made their way around the hospital, Sofia firing off questions left and right as Erica and sometimes Callie answered her, the ortho goddess couldn't help but think that maybe the move to New York wasn't as big a mistake as she first thought it was.
Seattle had been her and Sofia's home for a long time, maybe it was time to plant roots somewhere new. New York looked very promising, and Callie couldn't wait to see what this new beginning had to offer.